Such talks are typically wide-ranging--Cook's talk at the same event last year covered topics including quarterly earnings, Apple TV, and his then-still-recent succession of Steve Jobs. That talk was notable, however, for Cook's commitment to improve working conditions at Apple's worldwide chain of suppliers, in the face of burgeoning controversy.

"No one in our industry is doing more to improve working conditions than Apple," Cook told attendees at the February 2012 Goldman Sachs conference. "We are constantly auditing facilities, going deep into the supply chain, looking for problems, finding problems, and fixing problems. And we report everything because we believe that transparency is so very important in this area."

Since then, however, the focus of attention has shifted somewhat. Apple saw its PC sales decline dramatically in its last quarterly report, and faces renewed questions over whether some of its lines--including, especially, the iPad--are cannibalizing sales from more lucrative products.